In the center of a mining village in northern Valm stood an old, run down inn.
A young woman entered the building and walked up to the innkeeper. She had black hair reaching to the middle of her back and wore a thick robe. She was clearly tired, but she had a glint of determination in her eye.
She earned suspicious looks from the regulars in the building. The people around here were decidedly not used to travelers; in fact the inn functioned more as a bar and hangout spot for the locals than an actual inn. A room full of mistrusting eyes followed the girl.
A good part of that likely had to do with her Ylissean looks. The people in the more rural areas of Valm remained somewhat bitter towards the country that had defeated theirs not too long ago, and Walhart's most ardent followers even insisted that he would've killed Grima in half the time it took the Shepherds.
Whatever the reason, the woman was clearly unwelcome.
"Can I help you?" snarled the innkeeper.
"I'm looking for someone. White haired mage, about my height, wears a Plegian robe... Anyone like that around here?"
"Hmmmm... Yeah, now that you mention it, someone matching that description stopped by a few weeks ago."
"...Did he have an obsession with death? Smile a lot?"
"Yeah. If you wanna know any more it'll cost ya."
"Not the one I'm looking for." she said with a sigh. "I'm looking for a tactician. His name is Robin."
The man chuckled to himself in disbelief.
"You don't mean Ylisse's 'master tactician'? The guy who killed Grima? Nobody's seen him in a year. What could you possibly want with him?"
"That's the one I mean, and that's none of your business."
The innkeeper shrugged. "Well, like I said, no one's seen him since the battle against Grima. I hear he slipped out after the battle. Left his wife pregnant. Didn't wanna take care of his kid."
The woman visibly cringed, the words stinging her.
"Those are nothing more than viscous rumors. He was an honorable man." she replied, with barely veiled anger in her voice.
"I dunno, I hear' the same thin'! I heard he try 'n kill his king too!" shouted a drunk from somewhere else in the inn.
The woman's fists clenched, before she decided it probably wasn't worth starting a fight over. Unfortunately, despite his heroics, accounts of Robin'scharacter varied. Some saw him as a selfish jerk who skipped on his responsibilities the second he could, while others saw him as a kind friend to all he met.
It didn't help that the actual story of the Shepherds was more than a little unbelievable to those who hadn't witnessed it. Robin's tale was fertile ground for baseless rumors and bastardizations of the truth.
Naturally, these attempts to slander Robin's memory touched a nerve on all those who truly knew him.
The woman tried to regain her composure. It's not worth drawing attention... Blowing your cover... she thought to herself. The people around here would love the chance to hold a Shepherd hostage. Still...
"She was his fiance, she wasn't pregnant, and he didn't disappear by choice. He disappeared because he killed Grima to save the lives of ungrateful dastards like yourselves." she said in a disturbingly calm manner. "I will not have you talking about my- A Ylissean national hero like some common scoundrel."
The man shrugged. "Honorable or not, he's gone. And if he didn't run away after that battle, then he's dead."
The woman had heard those words far too many times. Too many people dismissed her search as pointless. Robin was either dead or trying desperately not to be found, in the eyes of the public.
She wanted to scream. Robin, of all people... Robin would find a way back from the dead. She knew it. He promised. After all, Morgan's existence proved that Robin wasn't gone forever... Right?
Robin would be back. And she would find him.
But her gut feelings and his promises meant nothing to anyone but her. So she bit her tongue. No matter how angry it made her... It simply wasn't worth it.
"Thank you for your time." she said quickly before leaving the inn.
"I'll keep an eye out for him!" shouted the innkeeper sarcastically. He went on to say something about "Risen," but by the time he said it, the woman was out of earshot.
She took a look around the tiny mountain village and, once she was sure no one was around, took off the wig she'd been wearing to reveal her long, blue locks of hair. She sighed.
Oh, Robin. When will I see you again?
So kindof a short chapter this week. I wanted to show what Lucina was up to, but I didn't want to switch back and forth between two viewpoints in the same chapter. Most of the story will focus on Robin and Morgan, but I'll occasionally do these Lucina chapters. Hope this one worked out alright, I put it through a lot of revisions, but I think it ended up nice!
I also really wanna say thanks to all the people who've followed, favorited and reviewed my story. It really means a lot to me, so... Thank you! :)